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6 Ways to Winterize your Lawn and Brave the Cold

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Winter is coming, and while we’re bundling up in our cozy sweaters, lawns need to winterize too! As the temperature drops and the leaves fall, there are plenty of ways to protect and prepare your lawn for future growth. Not sure how to get started? Check out these six tips to help your lawn brave the cold weather! Your spring-gardening-self is sure to thank you for it. 

1) Say Bye to Weeds

If you don’t take care of weeds before the winter, they’ll be competing for nutrients with your precious plants in the spring! Now is the time get them out using a spot spray, pulling them, or applying a preemergent. Espoma Organic Weed Preventer is a long-lasting solution for established lawns, but do not apply a preemergent if you plan on overseeding or have recently seeded. 

2) Rake it Up

Breaking up thatch material is a great way to show your lawn some TLC, especially if you plan to overseed. Thatch—that organic layer of dead roots, shoots, and stems—can block water movement and create unhealthy grass discoloration. Dethatching your lawn with a dethatching rake allows for better oxygen circulation, deeper root growth, and insect prevention. 

3) Pull out the Plugs

Speaking of foot traffic, if your lawn has dealt with a LOT this summer, it might benefit from core aeration. Core aeration machines evenly remove plugs or “cores” of soil from your lawn to relieve compaction, promote root growth, and improve the flow of water and oxygen. There are some manual alternatives to core aeration, but the machines are the most effective. After a busy summer, core aeration is a great way to bring fluffy and healthy green grass back to your lawn.

4) The Gift of Nutrients

Lawns get a lot of traffic in the summer, so it’s important to help your lawn recover and prepare for winter by feeding it nutrients! Make the most of the fallen leaves by mulching your leaf debris and use Espoma Organic’s Fall Winterizer fertilizer for easy, natural replenishment. Packed with potassium and slow-releasing nitrogen, our winterizer is formulated to promote spring greening and provide the long-lasting nutrition your lawn needs.

5) Get the Lime-ing Right

After the stress of summer, your soil pH may need some specific attention. Our Espoma Organic Lightning Lime is an ultra-fast, strong solution that allows your lawn to better intake water and nutrients. As long as the ground isn’t frozen, Lightning Lime is your lawn’s best friend and a great addition to your winterizing checklist. 

6) Grass Goals

To overseed or not to overseed, that is the question! While your decision should depend on your lawn’s goals and state of being, overseeding can improve turf quality, help repair weak spots, and control weeds. It’s a great way to make the most of the last of these warm temperatures and get some growth started before winter settles in!

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Make this coming spring season easier and greener by winterizing your landscape! Have a winterizing tip of your own to share?

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Seven Steps for a Fantastic Fall Garden

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Fall: it’s the season of transition. The weather is cooling down, the leaves are changing colors, and the air is getting crisp and breezy. While you might be thinking it’s time to pack up the gardening supplies until Spring, there’s no reason the growing has to stop yet! With this seasonal shift comes perfect weather for establishing new plants, great deals at garden stores, and a decrease in pests. In fact, this special season offers plenty of opportunities for preserving, planting, and preparing. Make the most of this time with these seven tips, and get back in the garden! 

 

     1. Don’t Forget Your Veggies

Don’t let the cooler weather fool you, there’s still time for growth. Broccoli, carrots, lettuce, and kale… fall is the season to plant these beloved vegetables. If your vegetable garden needs a boost, use our famous Organic Garden-tone or Grow!

 

 

2. Success with Succession

Maximize your harvest all throughout fall with succession planting. Harvest one crop, then replant one with a shorter maturity date, plant companion crops, stagger your seeding so harvest arrives in intervals, or plant a crop with varying maturity dates (broccoli, for example). Try out one of these methods and keep growing with our Garden-tone! 

 

 

     3. Bring in the Big Guys

Looking for a bigger way to upgrade your garden this fall? Plant trees and shrubs while the soil is still warm, use our Organic Tree-tone to nurture their development, and give them a chance to lay roots before winter settles in. Just be sure to keep them well-watered and protect those roots with mulch!

 

     4. Free Fertilizer 

Have you tried using those fall leaves to your advantage? Thick piles of leaves can be a lot for your lawn to tolerate, but mowing over what’s fallen creates smaller pieces that break down in the soil easier. Time to tackle that leaf pile and get your lawn some natural nutrients!

     

     5. Allium On the Way

Patience is a virtue… and so is planting ahead! Give your garlic, onions, and shallots a jump-start by planting them after the fall equinox. With full sun, rich soil, and crisp fall weather, your allium vegetables have plenty of time to get rooted before weathering the frost. Check out this article here for more tips on allium planting! 

     

     6. Take Cover

Mustard, peas, and clover are great cover crops to plant in the fall. Not only do cover crops prevent erosion, they can create better, richer soil for gardening. Let them grow throughout the fall and winter, then turn into the soil in the spring to enjoy the nutritious benefits of your labor.

     

     7. Winterize, Winterize, Winterize

Think of it as a gift to your future self. Keep up with weeding, winterize your watering system, and give your lawn a much-needed refresh with our Organic Fall Winterizer. These little chores make all the difference when getting your garden through upcoming winter frosts.

 

There’s so much in store this season, and with these tips, you can fall in love with fall gardening. Have your own must-do or want to share a photo of autumn in action? 

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Don’t Fall Short. Time to Feed Your Lawn!

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  • Mow High, Sweet Chariot. You’ve achieved harmony by mowing at 3″ to 3-1/2″ and we see no reason to stop now. Continue until the grass stops growing. When you get to that final mowing of the year, go just a bit shorter – say, 2-1/2″.
  • Key Lime—Lime is Key, That Is. Mid fall is usually a good time to add pelletized lime to “sweeten” the soil.
  • Don’t Leave the Leaves. Or, if you prefer, shred to get ahead. While not illegal, allowing fallen leaves to build up and smother your lawn this winter would certainly be a crime. Instead, use a mulching mower to shred those babies up into a nourishing, soon-to-be compost. It’s best to add lawn food when shredding these leaves to help them decompose faster.
  • Remove Thatch. Ha, fooled you! Truth is, you shouldn’t have any. Not with an organic lawn. That impenetrable dead grass build-up that won’t decay is the result of over fertilizing, NOT leaving the clippings. If you still have residual thatch from before you went chemical-free, rake it out with a strong rake.
  • Lay Off the Fast Food. Early to mid fall is the best time to fertilize your lawn. Use a high-quality, slow-feeding, organic lawn food specially formulated for this time of year, such as Espoma Fall Winterizer. This Winterizer contains extra potash to help your grass survive the winter. It also provides nutrients that collect below the soil surface, strengthens roots to help the grass become hardier and fortifies the lawn for the next season, allowing for quick green-up.
  • Don’t Go Bare For the Winter. Look for bare spots and reseed them. Otherwise, you may end up with weed patches next spring. Plus, fall temperatures (soil and air) are much more conducive to growing grass seed – period. Another advantage to fall seeding is that there is less competition with weeds at this time of year. Be sure to allow enough time for the seed to establish before winter arrives.
  • Pull Out All the Stops. And hand pull those pesky weeds.
  • Hold Your Water. At least some of it. Irrigate as needed while the grass is still growing, but unless it’s an unusually dry fall, you’ll need less water. It simply won’t evaporate as quickly and lawn growth will be slowing down as it’s cooling down.

    • Congratulations! Give yourself a big pat on the back, because once you’ve finished, you’ve made it through the year with a completely chemical-free lawn!

    Kid & Pet Friendly Lawns

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    Download PDF

    Your lawn may be doing more harm than good.

    The quest for greener grass on your side of the fence could be harming the environment. By EPA estimates, Americans apply 90 million pounds of pesticides to their lawn and gardens every year, creating a potential hazard for adults, children and pets. In addition, synthetic fertilizers can burn your lawn and leach away into nearby waterways. And odds are your lawn products contain both of these ingredients.

    Why go organic?

    Organic lawn care is a great way to a safe and healthy lawn. A healthy lawn is the best defense against weeds, insects and diseases. For a healthy lawn, you need healthy soil, alive with earthworms and loaded with beneficial microbes. Healthy soils let grass roots grow deep, making them more resistant to drought and stress. To have a safe & healthy soil, you need to avoid using pesticides and synthetic fertilizers and follow the tips at right.

    4 Tips for a Chemical Free Lawn

    1. Go on an organic diet. Choose an organic lawn program like the new one from Espoma. Benefits include:

    • No pesticides or synthetic ingredients
    • Product lasts 2.5x longer than typical lawn foods
    • Won’t burn your lawn or leach away
    • Each bag covers 5,000 sq. ft.
    • Safe to use around kids & pets

    2. Water When the Rooster Crows

    • Water early in the morning to avoid evaporation loss.
    • Start watering at the first signs of stress in the Spring.
    • Water deeper & less frequently in the Spring to encourage deeper rooting.
    • During the summer, watering should be lighter & more frequent.

    4. Sweeten the Soil (if necessary)

    • Lawns require a pH range of 6 – 7 to utilize nutrients.
    • If the pH is too low (acidic), sweeten it with lime.
    • If the pH is too high (alkaline), acidify it with sulfur.
    • You can check the pH with a simple home test kit.

     

    Use These Garden Staples to Avoid Being Bugged at Your Next Barbecue

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    With Memorial Day in the rearview, summer is officially here once again — and while we wish that meant nothing but sunshine and barbecues, bugs seem to always make an appearance this time of year. But did you know there are ways to avoid getting bitten and bugged every time you want to relax outside?

    The fragrance of certain plants can actually block the receptors insects use to find us. It’s just another great reason to get a garden going in your backyard, around your patio, or anywhere you like to enjoy fresh air. All you really need to sustain these helpful plants is some good starter fertilizer like Espoma’s organic Bio-tone Starter Plus and to make sure they’re fed every two to four weeks with Grow! to ensure they get the proper nutrients.

    So, if you’re getting some unwanted guests during those summer cookouts, try planting some of these simple staples.

    Lemon Grass

    Did you know many mosquito repelling candles and sprays are made from citronella oil? Lemon grass naturally produces this ingredient and doubles as a beautiful grassy plant for walkways and around tables. Alternatively, you can plant it in its own pot and use it wherever your local mosquitos tend to congregate.

    Other Lemon-Scented Plants

    Similar to lemongrass, other plants that give off a strong citrus fragrance — like lemon-scent geraniums, lemon thyme, and lemon balm — work well to repel bugs. These plants use their fresh scent to keep their leaves from being eaten — and in turn can help you keep from being bitten.

    Lavender

    Despite lavender’s sweet smell being quite popular among people, most insects hate it. Keeping this plant near seating areas will help ward away mosquitos and other pesky flies. A great thing about this plant is that you can use it fresh or dried to get the job done — or even just use the extracted oil. This way you have different options on how you want to decorate while still keeping the pests at bay.

    Rosemary

    Rosemary is a great addition to your cookout. Throw a few sprigs on the grill as you’re cooking to release its fragrance into the air. It’ll smell wonderful to you and your family but make the bugs fly in the other direction.

    Basil

    Basil is another herb that will keep the mosquitos away. It’s also toxic to mosquito larvae, so placing this plant near water can help discourage mosquitoes from laying eggs.

    Mint

    Mint’s fragrance is great at repelling pests like ants, mosquitoes, and even mice. It’s also always a nice addition to any dish, so incorporating it into your barbecue can be beneficial in more ways than one.

    Garlic

    If cabbage moths are just as pesky as mosquitoes in your backyard, garlic can be your saving grace. When crushed, the garlic bulbs release allicin — an enzyme that produces that classic garlic smell. Your local pests will definitely not enjoy your garlic breath, so go ahead and use it up all weekend long.

    Any and all of these plants can be used purely to keep the bugs away, but they’re also beautiful decor for your outdoor area. Be sure to keep up with them all season long in order to reap the benefits whenever your cookouts come around.

    Here are some of our other blogs we thought you might enjoy.

    BUG OFF – Plants That Repel Mosquitoes

    Perk Up Summer Containers with Stunning Annuals

    Growing Scrumptious Tomatoes in Easy Containers

    Where to Buy
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    How to Mow Stripes in your Lawn

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    Have you ever admired the uniform stripes on the field at a baseball game? It’ll take some practice, but with some work you can create your own striped lawn.

    The striped effect is achieved when light reflects off of the blades of grass bent in different directions, creating the dark and light patterns. It’s the same effect you’ll notice after running your hand back and forth across a suede jacket or a thick carpet. This is often the result of grass being bent down by the pressure applied by rollers attached to the back of a lawn mower. The pros use reel mowers with multiple rollers.

    Mowing stripes into your lawn actually benefits your yard and encourages healthy grass growth. Mowing too often in the same direction can cause taller grass to bend over, shielding other blades from the sun and killing you lawn over time. Not to mention, you could create ugly tire marks from repeatedly mowing in the same pattern.

    To get a landscape design worthy of its own baseball league, you’ll need to start with proper care. Green lawns start with proper care. Always use an organic lawn fertilizer or all season lawn food. Harsher, chemical lawn products can be eaten, ingested or passed on to your dog. This exposure has been linked with a higher risk of canine cancer.

    Whether you’re mowing stripes or not, a good cut begins with a sharp mower blade. A dull mower blade tears grass and can cause brown spots. So, sharpen your mower blades every fall and spring. Keep the mower blades high (3” or higher) to encourage healthy roots. If your mower blades are too low, you’re scalping the lawn.

    Not all grass types will stripe equally. Choose cool-season grasses, such as fescue, for the best stripes.

    5 Steps to a Striped Lawn

    1. Get the right materials. Check with your local garden center to see if they sell striping kits or purchase one online. Or, use brooms and squeegees to achieve the stripe effect you desire.

    2. Plan your pattern. With a little skill and a big vision, you can put your mower to work. The first time you do this, sketch a pattern of what you want your yard to look like to help you visualize it.

    3. Keep your mower straight. It’ll help you to mow if you start parallel to a sidewalk to begin with. To continue mowing in a straight pattern, keep your eyes looking 10 feet in front of you while you mow.

    4. Make clean turns. At the end of a row, make a Y-shaped turn to reduce the chance of damaging your lawn. Then mow in the opposite direction alongside your previous pass.

    5. Take it to the next level. Make your stripes look professional with a lawn roller. Using the lawn roller, roll it across the grass in the same direction you previously mowed.

    TIP: Create a checkerboard by mowing your lawn a second time at a 90 degree angle.

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    To Feed or Not to Feed: Organic Fertilizer Run Down

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    Just as you need energy to get through your day, your plants do too. And of course, when it comes to family-friendly gardening, organic fertilizer is the way to go!

    What is Organic Fertilizer?

    Organic fertilizers contain only ingredients from plant, animal or mineral sources.  Examples of these kinds of ingredients are bone meal, kelp meal and greensand.

    Why use Organic Fertilizer?

    While it is true that all fertilizers ultimately feed nutrients to plants in the same form, it is the process by which they are delivered that makes organic fertilizers superior to others.

    Three ways to think about organic fertilizers:

     1. Gardening always starts with the soil. Organic fertilizer “feeds the soil that feeds the plants”. The process by which organic fertilizers deliver their nutrients enhances the fertility and structure of the soil.

    Organics are digested by soil microorganisms, which then release the nutrients in a form available to plants. This process produces humus, a spongy material that improves soil structure. When you improve soil structure, the soil is better able to hold the proper balance of water, air and nutrients until they are required by plants.

    Plants respond by developing larger root systems. Larger roots support more vigorous top growth and make plants less susceptible to drought. And by stimulating a healthy population of beneficial microorganisms in the soil, plants become more resistant to insects and diseases.

     2. Organic fertilizers will provide slow, steady feeding, as the plants require it. The release process is slow and largely dependent upon three factors: the microbial population in the soil, moisture, and soil temperature.

    A healthy population of microbes in the soil is necessary for the digestion process. Moisture is required to sustain microbial life as well as to keep nutrients flowing into the plants root zone. And soil temperature is critical because as it rises, plants require nutrients more rapidly.

    Fortunately, microbial activity mimics these requirements and increases as soil temperature rises, so that organics feed the needed nutrients as the plants require them.

    Espoma fertilizers are safe for pets, people and the planet.

    3. Most of the time, the gardener isn’t the only one in the garden. Organic fertilizers are the safest choice for your plants and the environment.Unlike synthetic plant foods, organics have an extremely low salt index, which means there is little to no risk of burning (dehydrating) plants in periods of extreme drought or when over-applying.

    Organic fertilizers are generally very resistant to leaching out of the soil, so their nutrients stay in the root zone until the plants need them. And since most organic ingredients are byproducts from commercial farms and meat processing plants, the utilization of them for feeding plants is really a system of recycling much like composting.

    So, when the debate of whether you should fertilize your plants pops in your head remember: organic fertilizer is the right choice for you and your family. Check out our fertilizers here.

    5 Ways to Give Your Summer Garden a Boost

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    There’s no better way to enjoy your garden than by encouraging it to grow bigger and better. Before your summer veggies and flowers peak, take your garden to the next-level by refueling it.

    Knock-out these 5 essential tasks and your garden will thank you. You’ll extend your summer season and ensure that your lawn and garden are in tip-top shape.

     

    5 Ways to Give Your Summer Garden a Boost

    1. Hydrate. When it’s hot, dry and muggy, the best thing is a nice cold drink. Your plants need some H2O, too. The trick to keeping your garden hydrated during the hottest days is not to water more. It’s to water smarter. Water plants deeply in the morning so they have the entire day to soak it up.

    Image courtesy of Garden Answer

    2. Keep plants fed. Your summer veggies and flowers are hungry. Feed hanging baskets, container gardens and annuals with liquid Bloom! plant food every 2 to 4 weeks. Vegetables such as tomatoes and peppers are heavy feeders. Continue to feed every 2 weeks with organic fertilizers Tomato-tone or Garden-tone.

    3. Prune and deadhead. Extend the life of perennials by deadheading flowers as soon as they are spent. This will encourage plants to keep blooming as long as weather permits. Your roses will thank you. Prune tomato suckers and shrubs now, for fuller plants later.

    4. Mow lawns strategically. When mowing, keep the mower blades high (3” or higher) to encourage healthy roots. Cut grass in the evening to give it time to recover and keep yourself cool.

    5. Plant more! There are many quickly maturing plants that will thrive in summer gardens and be ready for harvest in the fall. Try planting radishes, cucumbers, beans and more.

    Sit back and relax! Take a good look at your hard work and dream about the rewards and bountiful harvests you’ll enjoy in the months to come.

    If you’re looking to get a better tomato harvest this summer, be sure to check out our complete tomato guide!

    Plant a path – The best Ground Covers

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    Easy-to-grow groundcovers aren’t just limited to grass. There are plenty of attractive solutions that suppress weeds and add interest to your yard.

    Groundcovers that feature variegated leaves and bright blooms bring life to areas that might otherwise go unnoticed. Plus, most groundcovers use less water than typical lawns and don’t require mowing.

    To get a groundcover started, dig planting holes twice the size of the plants’ roots, fill partially with compost, add the plant and then backfill with compost enhanced with Bio-tone Starter Plus. Water plants thoroughly after planting.

    5 Ground Covers for Your Yard

    1. Thyme

    Choose this perennial herb to create an aromatic, green carpet. Creeping thyme will grow between the cracks and crevices of stone paths and the pink or white blooms are lovely. Plant in full sun. Thyme is hardy in USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 4-10.

    2. Creeping Juniper

    This evergreen thrives in the heat. It does especially well in poor and sandy soils, drought and hot summers. Use it to fill in slopes, hills or rocky terrain. Plant in full sun. Creeping Juniper is hardy in Zones 3-10.

    3. Sedum

    One of the most dependable perennials you can grow, sedum quickly establishes in any sunny spot. Some sedums provide four seasons of interest, turning red in fall and winter. This low-maintenance, fast spreading plant will grow in even the poorest soil. Plant in full sun. Sedum is hardy in Zones 4-9.

    4. Sweet Woodruff

    Its star-shaped leaves and tiny white flowers make this shade-loving ground cover a favorite for many gardeners. True to its name, sweet woodruff will bring an earthy aroma to your yard. Plant in part to full shade. Sweet woodruff is hardy in Zones 4-8.

    5. Pachysandra

    Pachysandra is a great ground cover for areas where deer are a problem. Plus, it requires little care once it’s established. Be careful, though. While this ground cover is great for deterring deer, it can be poisonous to pets and children. Grow in shade and moist, well-drained soil. Pachysandra is hardy in Zones 4-8.

    Looking for something with more blooms? Find out the top annuals to plant in containers.

    Grass is always Greener: Different Types of Grass You Should Consider

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    Guest Post by Brian Rees of Bradley Mowers

    Do you ever drive through a neighborhood and check out all the fellow homeowner’s grass? If a lawn is the perfect color and neatly manicured, you can’t help but take notice.

    The Importance of Picking the Right Grass
    Grass is divided into three types, cool season, warm season and transitional. The success of your lawn will depend on numerous things. The most important thing is planting the right grass for your area or zone. Those that live in the north need cool season grasses, while those that live in the south need warm season varieties. Those that live in the middle can use a transitional grass. Randomly picking a grass based on its color and promises is not wise. You may be purchasing grass that won’t grow in your climate.

    Cool Season Grasses
    Cool season grasses are for areas that have cold winters and hot summers. They may experience a great deal of rain. These grasses can go for an extended period of time during drought periods. They do this by going dormant. These grasses include Kentucky Bluegrass, Rough Bluegrass, Perennial and Annual Ryegrass, Bentgrass and Red Fescue.

    Transition Zone Grasses
    Between the northern and southern turf regions, there is an area known as the “transition zone.” This area is in the lower elevations of North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, Kansas, and Arkansas. In these zones, neither the warm and cool grasses will be successful.

    Keep in mind that some of the cool season areas, the Kentucky bluegrass will do well best. In Tennessee, North Carolina, Alabama, and Georgia, the Tall Fescue variety work well. Lower elevations do better with warm season grasses. For those that live in the transition zone, they should use Zoysiagrass, Tall Fescue, Perennial Ryegrass, Thermal Blue, and Kentucky Bluegrass.

    Warm Season Grasses
    Those that live in the south find that growing and maintaining a lawn is a bit more involved than what it is for northern homeowners. Grass selection is much trickier. There are many turfs that will do well when started from plugs or sod, but they don’t do well started from seed. The key element is the soil.

    A low maintenance yard in this region must have good soil. When cold temperatures arrive, almost all warm season grasses will lose their color and turn brown. To prevent having a brown yard, some southerners will add Rye-grass to their existing laws to help keep a green hue during the winter. The technical term for this is called “winter overseeding.” Warm season grass varieties include St. Augustine Grass, Zoysiagrass, Centipede, Carpet Grass, Buffalo Grass, Bermuda Grass, and Bahia.

    Lawn Care
    Establishing new lawns from seed or sod doesn’t have to be difficult. For the lawn to take root, you need to make sure it has plenty of water. This is especially true in warmer climates where the sun will suck the moisture away.

    Try Espoma’s Organic Lawn Starter to help nourish the new lawn. The new lawn should be watered frequently until it has been cut at least two times. The ideal cutting height for a new lawn is roughly to about 3 inches tall. After those initial growing phases, regular water methods can resume.

    Though it takes a little bit of work at first, having a gorgeous lawn isn’t going to happen overnight. It takes patience, dedication, and knowing the right products to help achieve your desired result.

     

    AUTHOR BIO:

    Brian Rees is a media relations representative for Bradley Mowers. In his spare time, he enjoys writing, music, and spending time outside.

    Product

    Spring Lawn Booster

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    All Season Lawn Food

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    Summer Revitalizer

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    Fall Winterizer

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    Lawn Starter

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    Lightning Lime

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